Geary County Clerk Rebecca Bossemeyer has informed JC Post that Michael D. Gray of 912 Kramer Ct and Jeff Underhill of 2014 Nottingham Dr have filed for election to the Junction City Commission.
Underhill, a native of Junction City and 2001 graduate of Junction City High School, is involved in many community efforts.
“I currently serve on the Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC), as well as the Housing Authority Board and several other boards in Junction City,” said Underhill. “I thought that this was the natural next step for me to take in my community involvement and community leadership.”
Underhill said he wants to continue work on reducing the City’s debt, while also addressing issues that have been neglected in lieu of that debt.
For Gray, an Army veteran who retired after 26 years of service, and former president of the Junction City Arts Council said that he felt it was his “civic responsibility” to serve his community.
“If I live in a house and I want to fix it up [then I do], so if I live in a town and I want to try to fix it up – it only makes sense,” said Gray. “What I want to do is find ways to create a better image of what Junction City can give to people so that they can move here; we need to start circulating money from the region and getting more people interested and invested in working in the community.”
Sarah Talley, 528 W Chestnut, has filed for election to the Geary County USD 475 Board of Education.
Talley has a background in early childhood education, elementary education, special education and administration culminated from years of teaching in the District, being a Principal and also as the Human Resources Director for USD 475.
“Anyone that knows me knows that my passion is student learning, and I really want to keep the focus on how our students are performing – how we’re measuring that, what we’re looking at – how prepared they are for the next level,” said Talley. “I think we have very hard working teachers and very hardworking administrators and we need to make sure that all the efforts we put in everyday are really paying off for our students.”
Talley said her focus would be “looking at if we’re really making the most of what we have.”
The filing deadline for the City Commission and Board of Education is noon on June 1st.